'Chavvy' name.

[Awandinmypocket]

So for baby no 1 we considered Caleb, however we had a beautiful girl instead. Was considering Caleb again for baby number 2 but saw a post the other day where someone referred to it as a 'chavvy' name 'like Kayden and Jayden' (their words not mine) do people agree with this comment?! I see it as a biblical name (and the singer from Kings of Leon,actually)
Other contender is Rafferty. Middle name will be James.

Ok

No seriously, I appreciate it may be a bit out there for some people's taste and I can see why it's considered posh. I wanted Rupert too but OH said no :(

"culturally naive pillock"

Well aren't you the charmer CardiffSpecialSundae

Some people call their kids Jewel, Apple, or Sir, or Jesus. They might be weird names to some folk. Others might just shrug and say "each to their own".

I think Caleb is a bit chavvy really. I also think Rafferty James sounds better than Caleb James. Would you shorten Rafferty?

I think this thread has made you realise Rafferty is the name for you anyway!

I very nearly had a Caleb James I love the name Caleb, now even more so because of Pretty Little Liars...
Weirdly I know loads of Raffertys! I'm not posh or chavvy, somewhere in between, but it seems super popular where I live...

Sorry they both sound like names favoured by Caravners but each to there own.

Yes it has actually-so glad I posted it!
We would probably shorten to Rafe as we shorten our daughters name too. I tend to shorten all names it's quite an annoying habit of mine-so I always think of the shortening I will inevitably end up using

My friend is actually a very intelligent person, she just likes a name that you don't.

It is hugely culturally insensitive and denotes a problematic lack of awareness. I'm sure she's delightful but using Cohen as a first name is horrendous. There's a thread on here to that effect from a few months ago with lots of people saying the same.

By caravaner do you mean traveller or someone who enjoys caravan holidays?

Caleb is lovely. It's not a name I view as chavvy and it goes really nicely with James

going do you know many Jesuses outside the Spanish community? No? Ever wonder why?

Pope? Buddha? Lord? Christ? High Holy See? Any hanging about your local primary? I'm not one to shout chavvy about any name, but this one'd make me hoick my judgy pants to dental floss level about the parents.

I never thought of caleb as chavy but thats mumsnet for you. Someone mentioned levi the other day and that got slated. I must have chavy tastes as their two if my faves

Cardiff do you hoik your pants at Mohammed or Ali? Or is it just Jesus that annoys you? How about Emmanuel?

Caravaners? What's that mean?

I should confess that as well as a Caleb I also have a Jayden. And I still don't think I'm a "chav" I just chose names I loved.

Because in the north I have never heard of anyone being called Rafferty. In which part of the UK are all these kids called Rafferty?

Prefer Caleb to Rafferty but here's a twist I picture a Caleb with dark hair and a Rafferty who is blonde or red-head.

I've got a friend with a Rafferty who lives in the north. He's the only Rafferty I know.

Rafferty

Nope

It's amusing to me as an Irish person to see the name described as 'too posh, too try hard, too poncey, too celeb and now chavvy.'

It's a kind of a comedy Irish surname.
It always reminds me of a children's rhyme from long ago my childhood in Dublin, which I dimly recall featured the name Rafferty, though it could have been Flaherty - anyway, 'seven old ladies were stuck in a lavatory' was one of the lines..

If you wanted to be original or even literary, would you consider Raftery? Anthony Raftery (Antoine Ó Raifteirí) was a foremost Irish poet of the late 1700s. The name sounds much more dignified, imo.

Raphael is lovely too.

I think Caleb sounds really clunky, and the Calebs I know are a weird mixture of urban hipsters' children and the offspring of 'spare the rod and spoil the child' parents.

I agree that using Cohen is a huge NO NO. It is a term that has enormous significance in Judaism. It is not merely a name even though it is used as a surname. 'Culturally naive pillock' is a perfect way to describe someone who would do this. Not all words are up for grabs to name children with.

Oh I love Caleb! Rafferty is new to me but very cute. I am currently caravanning though so maybe my opinion isn't worth much

Re Cohen, I thought that was a no no but I could be wrong. Like you can't name someone Cohen, they have to be a Cohen? Again, though, I'm in a caravan....

"My friend is actually a very intelligent person, she just likes a name that you don't. She probably has far better social graces than someone who insults strangers on the internet in order to get some kind of excitement on their Friday night too."

Have you not been insulting, with your referencing to "chavy names"?

Rafferty just sounds like an Irish name to me

It's just a surname here in Ireland.

Love Rafferty! I don't see Caleb as 'chavvy' but to me it's a bit of a meh name, I could take it or leave it, Rafferty James gets my vote.

Cardiff do you hoik your pants at Mohammed or Ali? Or is it just Jesus that annoys you? How about Emmanuel?

I am not Cardiff, but I would think it very odd for anyone who was not Muslim to name a child Mohammed, and I think many Muslims would find it odd too, and for anyone not Spanish to choose Jesus, etc.

It is hard to find a really good analogy to some random person choosing 'Cohen' as a name for their non Jewish child.

The point is that a cohen (kohen) is a hereditary position in Judaism; the cohens (kohanim) were and remain a lineage whose function was/is priestly, though there are many Cohens who are not priests. In Judaic tradition, they are the descendants of Aharon (Aaron).

This tradition has been borne out by genetic testing.

I don't think either are especially chavvy or posh. However I would say Rafferty is really a last name and is quite "of the moment" - so personally I think Caleb is a better choice as it is more classic and will age better in the long run. I think it is a more tasteful name.